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Beauiful. Fantastic. Out of the world. The fact the Bangaram is the only island in Laskadweep with resorts makes it a truly virgin island, with immaculate beaches, crystal clear water and privacy that very few places in the world can now offer. If you wish to walk on the beach with your footprints being the only ones, you can. The other islands in Lakshadweep are beautiful too, but since this is uninhabited, it means that you wouldnt find litter on the beach or in the island, you wouldn' find fishing boats hampering the view of the otherwise immaculate horizon and you wouldn't have to give up on your privacy.

The lagoon in Bangaram is shared by its sister island Thinakkara. Both Bangaram and Thinakkara have resorts owned by SPORT (a government body). The tents have an amazing location right on the beach and have basic facilities: bed, bathroom, a restaurant nearby and most of the water sports (kayaking, snorkelling, scuba diving etc.). However, these are not 5 star properties so dont go looking for fancy facilities.

If I were to select where to stay between Bangaram and Thinnakara, I would be inclined to tilt towards Thinakkara for a couple of reasons. Firstly the resort in Thinakkara cost INR 8,000 whereas that in Bangaram cost INR 10,000. The diraction of the wind means that the resorts in Thinnakara would always have a cool breeze, whereas the tents in Bangaram are cut of from the breeze by the island behind it. The beach in Thinakkara is gradually sloping towards the lagoon, whereas in Bangaram, one of the beaches towards the lagoon has a sudden drop. This can be slighlty dangerous for someone who is not adept at swimming. However in either case, I would strongly suggest to buy your own snorkelling kit before you arrive to the island as renting out the equipment would be slightly more expensive (around INR 600-1000/day). Also, you would be more comfortable with your own kit and there would not be an availability issue. Both Thinnakara and Bangaram have tremendous opportunities to just walk out in the sea and start snorkelling. Be prepared to see large turtles and a myriad of fishes and corals.

Bangaram has another private resort called the Bangaram Beach Island Resort. However this is temporarily shut down due to government ineptitude and bearocratic non-sense. This is quite dissapointing since the island has tremendous potential for tourism. This is only one of 3 other islands where non-Indians are allowed. Also, this is the only island where alcohol is legal. Since the only resort open as of now is the SPORt resort which doesnt have a bar, it means that there is no alcohol on the only island where it is legal to serve it.

Bangaram has tremendous scuba-diving spots all around the island where you can spot large turtles, sharks, sting rays amongst a plethora of other marine lives. It is completely safe and an absolute must according to me. If you want suggestions on the best dive operator, please feel free to send me a personal message.

The island is 30 mins away from Agatti, which has the airport. A return boat ride would cost you around INR 1,500. Other nearby islands are Thinnakra, Parali 1 and Parali 2.

The biggest issue in reaching Lakshadweep, however, is obtaining a permit. As of now, the easiest way to obtain a permit is to either book through SPORT or to be a government employee/relative of a government employee. This has discouraged private tourism in Lakshadweep where most of the private resorts are currently closed.

Laslty, the island is very conservative and the locals would not encourage girls to wear shorts/or even three-fourths. Infact, when we were returning from one of our scuba expedetions by boat, one of the boat crew members actually indicated to one of the girls to wear full trousers and a sleeved tshirt. Bikini's, any form of nudity, or any form of showing excessive "skin" would be deeply discouraged by the locals.

Get sun-tan/coconut oil/mosquito repellant/sun glasses and your permit. Enjoy this little bit of heaven on earth. Feel free to message me personally if trip advisor allows that for more info.

Ask foxgang1 about Bangaram Island

21 Thank foxgang1

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

One of the last places on earth that has not yet been exploited and commercialized.Being a beach lover, we were very much looking forward to discovering these islands. The fact that only 4 out of 11 inhabited Lakshadweep islands are open to foreign tourists also adds to the intrigue and charm of this place.Everyone going to these islands needs a permit that can be obtained by SPORTS. It seems that one needs 2 months advance planning and booking. We opted for Bangaram island for a 3 night stay.Upon arrival at Agatti airport and approximately 25 passport and permit checks later, we got on a 'speedboat' to take us to Bangaram. It was more like an old fishing boat than a speed boat. The journey took 1h30 minutes. Eventhough the distance between Agatti and Bangaram is just 10 kms. :-)Once we arrived on Bangaram, we were escorted to our non A/C 'tent'. The tent is very basic...2 twin beds, a small bathroom at the back of it and a shower that drip drops water.

The island has beautiful shades of turquoise/emerald green colour, but the beach at Bangaram is a bit disappointing since the patch of sand is interrupted by a patch of grass. On low tide it is ok...but high tide eats up the beach even more. Due to the lake found in the middle of the island, there are tons of mosquitoes around at night.

By the second day, we were curious to visit Thinnikara which is the island directly facing Bangaram that also had some tents set up on what looked like a much bigger sandy white beach. We decided to take the boat ride that covered Parveli 1 and 2 (uninhabited islands nearby) as well as Thinnikara. The corals are unspoiled and the water is an amazing colour.

Once we reached Thinnikara, we knew immediately that this was exactly what we were looking for in terms of beaches. The beach here is large white fine sand and is just spectacular!!! We asked the man running this island if we could transfer from Bangaram to Thinnikara and he was very happy to accommodate us. So we immediately took the small fishing boat back to Bangaram, packed in 10 minutes, and off we were back to Thinnikara.

The tent set up is exactly the same on Thinnikara as it is on Bangaram. There was a total of 7 tents (all the same) set up along the beach. Each tent accommodates 2 persons. The bathroom is exactly the same too. The only downside when comparing Bangaram to Thinnikara is that Thinnikara shower water smelled much worse than the shower at Bangaram. No hot water, but you don't really need it. No mosquitoes, or at least a lot less due to the absence of a marshland in the middle of the island.

The best part about Thinnikara is that you have sunset directly in front of you as opposed to having the sunset behind you like on Banagaram (you get sunrise if you wake up early enough on Bangaram)

On days 2 and 3 we were literally the only persons on Thinnikara. Our own private island :-) (apart from staff). We walked around the island (it takes about 50 minutes with a brisk pace)...and also ventured out on the various sand bars found at the tip of the island. The emotion is overwhelming.

We saw tons of turtles, sting rays, Nemos everyday.

Thinnikara is paradise on earth. The water, the corals, the turtles and all the unspoiled nature of it is what will stay for a long time in your memory.

It is true that it is very basic accommodations, with basic food...but the staff is lovely (all young boys), and willing to help out with whatever request, obviously within their very limited knowledge of English language. It is sheer bliss well worth a 3 night stay.

To all foreign tourists that have non-Indian cell phones: Please note that your cell phone will not take on the island. Bangaram has no cell phone reception, obviously no wifi, and no electricity between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thinnikara, manages to sometimes get a cell phone signal that hardly ever works, no wifi and also no electricity during the times mentioned above. If you can handle being disconnected from the world and appreciate the beauty of such places...this is definitely for you.

If you can rough out the basic camping conditions (nothing remotely close to 'glam-ping' on these islands!), then this place is really worth the visit...You will be one of a few hundred travelers that ventures out annually to this part of the world. It's probably the basic conditions that will make you dream to go back one day.

Ask divagirl2013 about Bangaram Island

17 Thank divagirl2013

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Bangaram island is a wonderful place.quiet,beautiful lagoon.we did snorkeling.and it was a nice experience.tents are ok to live but very hot during day time.No mobile connectivity in day time.Sea life is excellentFood is average since they have limited resources locally.Staff is very cooperativeOverall it is memorable experience.and we enjoyed it a lot

Ask Jhalanihospital about Bangaram Island

2 Thank Jhalanihospital

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

No doubt the island is beautiful.The emerald coloured water was a feast for the eyes but the administration made sure that we had an uncomfortable stay in a dirty tent where you can not enter during the day time as the tents get very hot. They could have put the tents under some shade.The toilets are so small that you won't feel like entering. The tap water stinks. I failed to understand why do they charge so much for such disgusting accommodation. The food was again another sour point. I doubt if they have appointed proper cooks as the food tasted horrible. However the staff were warm and friendly. The place is suitable only for those who are interested in water sports but not for people who are not looking for adventure. So the first day was very very disappointing but somehow I liked the place on the second day and the credit goes only to nature. When we booked the place we were told that the transfer from Agatti to Bangaram would be by speed boat. But we were ferried by ordinary motorised boat without any cover which took one hour and forty five minutes to reach. And I was scared as the ride was not smooth. Water entered into the baggage and clothes got wet. But inspite of the huge expenditure and unsatisfactory service I still loved the place though I don't think I will ever go back there for a second time.

Ask cls1212 about Bangaram Island

4 Thank cls1212

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.